How do you improve on the phone we described as “one of the cheesiest Android devices we’ve ever handled”? If you’re Alcatel, you switch from a sliding to candybar form factor, ditch the large, candy-colored buttons and add a touchscreen. That about sums up the OT-915, a budget handset that’s slated to make its official debut at Mobile World Congress later this month, but whose existence Electricpig claims to have confirmed weeks in advance. That press shot up there, if accurate, speaks for itself: what we have here is a full QWERTY device whose button layout and style borders on BlackBerry KIRF. Other specs include a 2.8-inch, 240 x 320 touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera, WiFI, FM radio, 11.9mm-thick profile and Android 2.3 as an OS. Electricpig, based in the UK, reports the phone is headed to Blighty at some unspecified date, though it’s unclear what other (typically non-US) markets it’ll reach. For now, we leave you with that one photo up there, but you know if we see this thing on the show floor at Barcelona we’ll hit you back with more details and the requisite hands-on treatment.

Microsoft is serious about Windows 8, and if you’re serious about submitting Metro-style apps then there’s now a healthily long and detailed blog post (at the source link) explaining how. The post suggests that Redmond’s app police are looking at a roughly a six-day turnaround for signing off and publishing the average title, with content compliance taking the longest time because it involves “real people.” As the real person in the video after the break makes clear, your first goal should be to reserve your app’s name so no one else can take it. (You do have a name for it, right?)

If you fancy yourself a power user, HP’s got a “world’s first” trick up its sleeve that might lure you in. Earlier today, the Palo Alto outfit took the wraps off its newest all-in-one, the HP Z1. This workstation is a mere distant cousin to HP’s consumer-focused Omni and TouchSmart lines — not that that’s a bad thing. The machine comes sporting a 27-inch, 2560 x 1440, IPS display, the back of which snaps open for easy access when making hardware tweaks and, if you wisely choose to take the premium road, you could be walking out with a quad-core Intel Xeon CPU and NVIDIA Quadro graphics, as well as your choice of a 160GB or 300GB SSD for storage. Needless to say, it all depends on how much dough you’re willing to part with. HP says the Z1 is expected to ship around April, with the lowest-end model starting at $1,899. It’ll be a while before you can get your hands on one, but in the meantime you can keep yourself entertained by checking out those glossy press shots below.

If you’ve been relying on a satellite modem for your daily dose of the Internet, you’re probably all too familiar with sub-1Mbps download speeds and an overall painful experience. That’s exactly why we’ve been so impressed with ViaSat and its new 12Mbps down, 3Mbps up Exede residential satellite broadband product. Yesterday, we journeyed deep into Camp Pendleton near San Diego to test out those 12/3Mbps speeds on the go-anywhere SurfBeam 2 Pro Portable, and now we’re back to play around with the enterprise setup’s more stationary sibling, the SurfBeam 2 Pro. The modem functions in much the same way as ViaSat’s less-expensive household version, though there’s a bit more horsepower under the hood.

The sample we saw at the company’s Carlsbad, CA headquarters is also provisioned for faster service, delivering throughput in excess of 40Mbps down, letting you transfer files from the web at speeds you’d typically only be able to meet with a fiber connection. That may be a bit excessive for regular web use, but if you need to download software, movies or other large files in remote areas, that extra speed will likely be more than welcome. Join us past the break for a quick look a Exede, followed by a demo of the enterprise version and its 40Mbps downloads.

Since it was announced last August, we’ve anxiously been waiting for Sony’s flagship Walkman Z (the first to feature Android) to hit US shores. (It made it here well after the holidays passed. Better late than never, right?) While Sony is billing the Z as a Walkman first and foremost, its spacious 4.3-inch display and 1GHz Tegra 2 SoC ensure it’s powerful and well-sized for playing games and generally making the most of Gingerbread. The device will be available in a variety of flavors, with up to 32GB of storage ($330), though for the purposes of this review we’ve been rocking the entry-level 8GB model ($250). Although we haven’t exactly been charmed by similar devices vying for a piece of the iPod Touch’s market share, the Walkman Z has plenty of promise. The question is, does it deliver? And does it deserve your $250 when it goes on sale in March? Let’s find out.

Boom. Just as promised, the large beast that is Samsung’s don’t-call-it-a-tablet handset has hit available status in the Land of the Maple Leaf. Canadian carriers Bell and Telus have the Galaxy Note up for grabs now on their respective sites at the cost of $199 with a whopping three-year contract, while anything’s yet to pop up on Rogers’ page (we’ll let you know as soon as it does). The launch comes a few days ahead of its expected release on US shores, where it’ll require less of a commitment but carry a heavier price tag. Still pondering if the galactic 5.3-inch device is the right fit for you? Give our review one last glance before you decide to make the enormous jump.

Emmys? Check. Grammys? Check. Engadget Awards 2011? Almost there. Now that we’ve gone through the nomination process, it’s time for you to let us know who deserves to be crowned king of its category, which in some special cases, might not be something to be completely proud of. The clock’s ticking and you have until 11:59PM ET on Monday February 20th to drop your precious ballot in. We’ll let you know soon thereafter who’s walking away a winner and who’s heading back to the shelves empty-handed, as well as who earned our Editors’ Choice picks.

If you don’t mind your Gingerbread a bit stale, the ZTE V9A Light Tab 2 is now available in the UK. To jog your memory, for £235 you can snag the 7-inch, Android 2.3 slate complete with a 1.4GHz single-core processor, dual cameras, WiFi and 3G connectivity (no word on service providers). You’ll also be getting 4GB internal storage alongside a microSD slot for added space. If you’re looking to splurge in hopes of a tasty OS upgrade, there’s still no word on ICS for the tablet. More details await in the full PR below.

We’ve all heard about SlingBox, that nifty bit of kit that lets you stream your cable or satellite television to the mobile device of your choice, and now a new company called Aereo aims to provide a similar service for OTA broadcast television. The service costs $12 dollars a month and will launch March 14th, but is only available to folks in New York City through Aereo’s HTML5-powered website. It’ll stream all the major networks, and also offers a cloud-based DVR service on the internet-connected device of your choosing, whether it’s a media streamer, phone, tablet or TV. Aereo’s powered by large devices containing tons of tiny, dime-sized TV antennas connected to the cloud, with individual antennas corresponding to individual users — giving each the ability to tune into one channel at a time. Intrigued as much as we are? Learn all about Aereo’s new service at the source link below.

Intrigued by Samsung’s new petite smartphone? Well, those not gearing up for quad-cores and high-definition screens can now spy some dizzying label placement details and more from its recent FCC visit. Expect the Galaxy Mini 2 to pack both 850 and 1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE radios, meaning it’ll be compatible with both AT&T and (EDGE-only) T-Mobile networks. The radios are accompanied by Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and NFC functionality. While the filing adds an extra dose of credence to that mooted February release, US fans may have to wait a little longer; an FCC appearance doesn’t always equate to a release on American shores.